Movie Review: Maa

Let me start by writing that if you haven’t seen this movie yet; don’t. It’s a travesty of a “horror” movie. Whether it had marketed itself as a scary movie or not, the storyline, acting, and build-up to the climax are loosely woven together. As a result, the movie falls down pretty quickly.

The pace is slow, the startles and spooky elements are sub-par and one wonders at the kind of midlife crisis actress Kajol is going through that she would consent to being a part of such a movie.

Without further trashing, here is what Maa is all about: in the age old battle between good and evil and also between Goddess Kali and the demon Raktabeej, there’s a new entrant called Amsaja. He’s born of a remnant of Raktabeej’s blood and is trying for world domination by spreading his seed (eww gross) through a particular family that has the blessings of Goddess Kaali.

Kajol (a daughter-in-law) of the family is unwillingly pulled into the maelstrom that is going to play out when she has to prevent her daughter from becoming the vessel that brings forth Amsaja’s brood into this world.

The settings of the old-fashioned zamindar ‘rajbaadi’ apart and a bit of the spooky forest which has been tainted by Amsaja’s presence and that of the blood of the girl babies who were sacrificed to appease his wrath and lust; the movie falls flat in not being able to create any kind of an atmosphere which complements the story.

The director in his infinite wisdom, decided to have the actors speak a version of Hindi which is liberally laced with Bangla instead of making this a Bangla movie from the onset. The cast is rounded off with Ronit Roy (the bad guy), Indraneil Sengupta (in a blink and miss it role) and a really whiny and annoying young actress-Kherin Sharma, who plays Kajol’s daughter.

When I say that I’ll never get those 2 hours of my life back, heed my words. Avoid it when it comes on OTT as well. The only thing that works here is Kajol’s fairly lush hair and whatever hair products she’s using to keep them that way.

This movie may be about the Divine Mother or the limitless love a mother has for her child but it’s still crap. No amount of mother love can rectify that.

Nuff said.